Die Stadtpräfektur des Q. Lollius Urbicus und Apuleius, Apologia 2—3

Q. Lollius Urbicus naj bi kot prefekt mesta Rima deloval 14 let (146—160). Ker vzbuja dolgotrajnost njegovega službovanja sum in jo strokovnjaki navadno izpodbijajo — vita Pii spričuje, da guvernerji pod Antoninem Pijem niso služili tako dolgo — je avtor vse zadevne elemente kritično pretresel. Med temi je pomembno zlasti Apulejevo pričevanje, ki je bilo doslej nezadovoljivo tolmačeno. Analiza pokaže, da je Q. Lolius Urbicus v resnici služboval kot praefectus Urbi polnih 14 let

Mejora continua para procesos en las áreas impositiva y laboral de una PyME

El presente trabajo se desarrolla en un estudio contable, pequeña empresa radicada en la ciudad de Córdoba (Argentina) desde el año 2006, con una única casa matriz. Su actividad consiste en la prestación de servicios administrativos, impositivos y laborales, contables y de consultoría, para pequeñas y medianas empresas. Con el transcurso del tiempo, el incremento de la demanda de los clientes implicó cambios en la estructura organizacional, como el aumento de personal y de las funciones desarrolladas. Sin embargo, los procesos se mantuvieron intactos, generando problemas internos que repercutieron negativamente en el cliente. La entidad manifestó su preocupación por la imposibilidad de llevar a cabo una mejora continua enfocada en el cliente y brindar servicios de calidad, para lograr su satisfacción y así mejorar la rentabilidad del negocio. Este trabajo pretende aportar una solución al problema, diseñando acciones que favorezcan la mejora continua de los procesos de las áreas impositiva y laboral, las cuales representan la segunda actividad principal de la firma. Para ello se propuso aplicar la metodología del Ciclo de vida Business Process Management que consiste en seleccionar, mejorar y controlar un proceso. En función de este análisis se logró diseñar, estandarizar e implementar un proceso Gestión de Pedidos en las áreas mencionadas, definir indicadores y controlar sus mediciones luego de la implementación. De esta manera, mediante un proceso de mejora continua, se logró aumentar la cantidad de órdenes entregadas a tiempo y reducir el tiempo de procesamiento interno.Fil: Vidman, Francina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina

Symmetrisk Lupoid Onychodystrofi hos hund : en journalstudie samt analys av antinukleära antikroppar, ANA

Symmetrisk Lupoid onychodystrofi, SLO, beskrevs för första gången på mitten av 90-talet. Sjukdomen karaktäriseras av att alla klor avlossas inom en kort tidsperiod utan att andra samtidiga systemiska fynd ses. Den bakomliggande orsaken till sjukdomen är ännu inte känd, men eftersom liknande histologiska fynd som vid systemisk lupus erythematosus, SLE och kutan lupus erythematosus, LE, kan identifieras har en autoimmun bakgrund misstänkts. Hörnstenen i SLE-diagnostiken är ANA-test, för att påvisa cirkulerande antinukleära antikroppar. I enstaka studier har man tidigare hos vissa hundar med SLO kunnat påvisa ANA. Syftet med den här studien har varit att göra ANA-test på hundar med symmetrisk kloavlossning och SLO, samt att genom journalstudier beskriva hur sjukdomen ser ut i Sverige idag. Hundar provtagna och testade för ANA är sju bearded collies, fem riesenschnauzer, tre Rhodesian ridgeback och en toypudel samt tolv kontrollhundar av raserna bearded collie, riesenschnauzer och Rhodesian ridgeback. Samtliga hundar var negativa för ANA. Detta tillsammans med uppgifter från litteraturen leder till slutsatsen att ANA-test vid symmetriska kloproblem utan tecken på systemisk sjukdom har begränsat diagnostiskt värde. I journalstudien har framförallt behandling och behandlingsresultat undersökts. Tjugofem svenska hundar med SLO och symmetrisk kloavlossning inkluderades, hos 14 av dessa bedömdes behandlingsresultatet ge bra effekt, medan en hund avlivades på grund av kloproblemen. Många hundar fick en kombination av olika behandlingar, bytte behandling eller ändrade dos. Fettsyror och steroider var vanliga behandlingar med 22 respektive 11 fall. Andra använda läkemedel var pentoxifyllin samt azathioprin. Sekundärinfektioner i klo och klofals var vanligt och 18 hundar blev behandlade med antibiotika initialt. Enligt journalstudien framkom att fettsyror ofta ger ett bra behandlingsresultat samt låg förekomst av bieffekter, varför detta kan anses vara ett bra förstahandsval för behandling av symmetrisk kloavlossning. Vid uteblivet, eller otillräckligt, behandlingssvar kan dock behandlingen behöva ändras/kompletteras. Behandlingen är ofta livslång och recidiv kan trots detta ses.Symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy, SLO, was first described in the mid nineties. The disorder is characterized by all claws being sloughed during a short period of time without concurrent systemic signs of disease. The underlying cause for the disease is yet unknown, but due to similar histological findings, such as for systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE and for cutaneous lupus erythematosus, LE, an autoimmune background has been suspected. The key to diagnosing SLE is ANA-testing for detecting circulating antinuclear antibodies. In a few previous studies, a small number of dogs with SLO have been ANA positive. This study’s aims are to test for ANA in dogs with symmetrical sloughing of the claws and SLO, and through studies of patient charts, to formulate a description of the disorder in Sweden today. The dogs tested for ANA included seven Bearded Collies, five Giant Schnauzers, three Rhodesian Ridgebacks and one Toy Poodle. Twelve dogs were used as controls, including the following breeds: Bearded Collies, Giant Schnauzers and Rhodesian Ridgebacks. All dogs tested negative for ANA. These results, together with information from the literature, leads to the conclusion that ANA testing in symmetrical claw disorders without signs of systemic disease has limited diagnostic value. In the case report, in particular different therapies and the outcome of treatment have been studied. Twenty-five Swedish dogs with SLO and symmetric claw disorders were included; fourteen of these were considered to have good response after medical treatment, while one dog had to be euthanized as a result of the claw disorder. In many cases treatments were changed, doses were altered or a combination of different therapies was given. Orally administered fatty acids and steroids were commonly used as treatments for 22 and 11 cases respectively. Other drugs used were pentoxifylline and azathioprine. Secondary infection of the claw and claw fold were common and 18 dogs were given initial antimicrobial treatment. According to the case study the results of treatments using fatty acids is often good and has little adverse side effects, which is why this may be considered a good first choice for the treatment of symmetrical claw disorders. In the case of no response, or an inadequate response, however, the treatment might need to be changed or other drugs added to control the disorder. The treatment is often lifelong but relapses may occur

Corporate social responsibility and external stakeholders’ health and wellbeing: a viewpoint

In recent years there has been increased interest in the role played by business corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies in promoting the health and wellbeing of internal and external stakeholders. However, the sparse public health research to date has mainly focused on the health and wellbeing of internal stakeholders. This viewpoint article aims to ignite discussion of how CSR strategies need to also target external stakeholders beyond the workplace. Businesses have an opportunity to help address the most important societal challenges, especially the social determinants of health which are the root causes of inequities in health. However, while advancing a new agenda for promoting external stakeholders’ health, businesses need to take into account potential challenges that might arise from ethical conflicts when trying to balance their CSR initiatives against their business operations

Lifestyle correlates of eight breast cancerrelated metabolites: a cross-sectional study within the EPIC cohort

This work was funded by the French National Cancer Institute (grant number 2015-166). Mathilde His' work reported here was undertaken during the tenure of a postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, financed by the Fondation ARC. The coordination of EPIC is financially supported by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and also by the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, which has additional infrastructure support provided by the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The national cohorts are supported by Danish Cancer Society (Denmark); Ligue Contre le Cancer, Institut Gustave Roussy, Mutuelle Generale de l'Education Nationale, Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) (France); German Cancer Aid, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (Germany); Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro-AIRC-Italy, Compagnia di SanPaolo and National Research Council (Italy); Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS), LK Research Funds, Dutch Prevention Funds, Dutch ZON (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland), World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) (The Netherlands); Health Research Fund (FIS) - Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Regional Governments of Andalucia, Asturias, Basque Country, Murcia and Navarra, and the Catalan Institute of Oncology-ICO (Spain); Swedish Cancer Society, Swedish Research Council and County Councils of Skane and Vasterbotten (Sweden); and Cancer Research UK (14136 to EPIC-Norfolk (DOI 10.22025/2019.10.105.00004); C8221/A29017 to EPIC-Oxford), Medical Research Council (1000143, MR/N003284/1, MC-UU_12015/1 and MC_UU_00006/1 to EPIC-Norfolk; MR/M012190/1 to EPIC-Oxford) (UK). The funders were not involved in designing the study; collecting, analyzing, or interpreting the data; or writing or submitting the manuscript for publication.Background: Metabolomics is a promising molecular tool for identifying novel etiological pathways leading to cancer. In an earlier prospective study among pre- and postmenopausal women not using exogenous hormones, we observed a higher risk of breast cancer associated with higher blood concentrations of one metabolite (acetylcarnitine) and a lower risk associated with higher blood concentrations of seven others (arginine, asparagine, phosphatidylcholines (PCs) aa C36:3, ae C34:2, ae C36:2, ae C36:3, and ae C38:2). Methods: To identify determinants of these breast cancer-related metabolites, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis to identify their lifestyle and anthropometric correlates in 2358 women, who were previously included as controls in case-control studies nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort and not using exogenous hormones at blood collection. Associations of each metabolite concentration with 42 variables were assessed using linear regression models in a discovery set of 1572 participants. Significant associations were evaluated in a validation set (n = 786). Results: For the metabolites previously associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, concentrations of PCs ae C34: 2, C36:2, C36:3, and C38:2 were negatively associated with adiposity and positively associated with total and saturated fat intakes. PC ae C36:2 was also negatively associated with alcohol consumption and positively associated with two scores reflecting adherence to a healthy lifestyle. Asparagine concentration was negatively associated with adiposity. Arginine and PC aa C36:3 concentrations were not associated to any of the factors examined. For the metabolite previously associated with a higher risk of breast cancer, acetylcarnitine, a positive association with age was observed. Conclusions: These associations may indicate possible mechanisms underlying associations between lifestyle and anthropometric factors, and risk of breast cancer. Further research is needed to identify potential non-lifestyle correlates of the metabolites investigated.Institut National du Cancer (INCA) France 2015-166International Agency for Research on Cancer - Fondation ARCWorld Health OrganizationDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College LondonDanish Cancer SocietyLigue Contre le Cancer (France)Institut Gustave Roussy (France)Mutuelle Generale de l'Education Nationale (France)Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (Inserm)Deutsche KrebshilfeGerman Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) (Germany)German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) (Germany)Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF)Fondazione AIRC per la ricerca sul cancroCompagnia di San PaoloConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)Netherlands GovernmentWorld Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF)Health Research Fund (FIS) - Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (Spain)Junta de AndaluciaRegional Government of Asturias (Spain)Regional Government of Basque Country (Spain)Regional Government of Murcia (Spain)Regional Government of Navarra (Spain)Catalan Institute of Oncology-ICO (Spain)Swedish Cancer SocietySwedish Research CouncilCounty Council of Skane (Sweden)County Council of Vasterbotten (Sweden)Cancer Research UK 14136 C8221/A29017UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)Medical Research Council UK (MRC) 1000143 MR/N003284/1 MC-UU_12015/1 MC_UU_00006/1 MR/M012190/

Pan-cancer analysis of pre-diagnostic blood metabolite concentrations in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies of associations between metabolites and cancer risk have typically focused on specific cancer types separately. Here, we designed a multivariate pan-cancer analysis to identify metabolites potentially associated with multiple cancer types, while also allowing the investigation of cancer type-specific associations. METHODS: We analysed targeted metabolomics data available for 5828 matched case-control pairs from cancer-specific case-control studies on breast, colorectal, endometrial, gallbladder, kidney, localized and advanced prostate cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. From pre-diagnostic blood levels of an initial set of 117 metabolites, 33 cluster representatives of strongly correlated metabolites and 17 single metabolites were derived by hierarchical clustering. The mutually adjusted associations of the resulting 50 metabolites with cancer risk were examined in penalized conditional logistic regression models adjusted for body mass index, using the data-shared lasso penalty. RESULTS: Out of the 50 studied metabolites, (i) six were inversely associated with the risk of most cancer types: glutamine, butyrylcarnitine, lysophosphatidylcholine a C18:2, and three clusters of phosphatidylcholines (PCs); (ii) three were positively associated with most cancer types: proline, decanoylcarnitine, and one cluster of PCs; and (iii) 10 were specifically associated with particular cancer types, including histidine that was inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk and one cluster of sphingomyelins that was inversely associated with risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and positively with endometrial cancer risk. CONCLUSIONS: These results could provide novel insights for the identification of pathways for cancer development, in particular those shared across different cancer types

A New Pipeline for the Normalization and Pooling of Metabolomics Data

Pooling metabolomics data across studies is often desirable to increase the statistical power of the analysis. However, this can raise methodological challenges as several preanalytical and analytical factors could introduce differences in measured concentrations and variability between datasets. Specifically, different studies may use variable sample types (e.g., serum versus plasma) collected, treated, and stored according to different protocols, and assayed in different laboratories using different instruments. To address these issues, a new pipeline was developed to normalize and pool metabolomics data through a set of sequential steps: (i) exclusions of the least informative observations and metabolites and removal of outliers; imputation of missing data; (ii) identification of the main sources of variability through principal component partial R-square (PC-PR2) analysis; (iii) application of linear mixed models to remove unwanted variability, including samples' originating study and batch, and preserve biological variations while accounting for potential differences in the residual variances across studies. This pipeline was applied to targeted metabolomics data acquired using Biocrates AbsoluteIDQ kits in eight case-control studies nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Comprehensive examination of metabolomics measurements indicated that the pipeline improved the comparability of data across the studies. Our pipeline can be adapted to normalize other molecular data, including biomarkers as well as proteomics data, and could be used for pooling molecular datasets, for example in international consortia, to limit biases introduced by inter-study variability. This versatility of the pipeline makes our work of potential interest to molecular epidemiologists

Maatilan sukupolvenvaihdos

Tässä opinnäytetyössä tutkittiin maatilan sukupolvenvaihdoksen toteuttamista. Aihetta käsittelin luopujan ja jatkajan näkökulmasta. Työn tavoitteena oli saada koottua keskeiset osa-alueet, jotka jatkajan ja luopuja tulee huomioida sukupolvenvaihdosta suunniteltaessa ja sitä toteutettaessa. Opinnäytetyön teoriaosuus koostuu alan kirjallisuudesta, laeista, säädöksistä ja ohjeista. Opinnäytetyö on laadullinen eli kvalitatiivinen tutkimus. Empiriaosuudessa käsitellään mahdolliset kaupantekotavat kyseiselle tilalle, ja hahmotetaan myös näitä esimerkkilaskelmin. Tutkimuksen tuloksena saatiin eri kauppatavoilla toteutettavien kauppojen kustannukset ja verotusseuraamukset luopujan ja jatkajan kannalta. Maatilalle ei ole yhtä oikeaa tapaa toteuttaa sukupolvenvaihdos. Tässä työssä annetaan myös ehdotus kaupantoteutustavasta ja kauppahinnasta. Sukupolvenvaihdoksen toteuttaminen on aikaa vievää ja paljon suunnittelua vaativa prosessi. Laskelmien avulla on helppo selvittää kaupasta aiheutuvat kustannukset, mutta rahallisen arvon lisäksi sukupolvenvaihdoksessa on mukana myös paljon tunnearvoa.The purpose of the study was to examine the change of generation on a farm. The topic was dealt with from the perspectives of the transferor and the transferee. The aim was to gather information on the essential elements which the transferor and transferee must take into consideration when planning and implementing the change of generation on a farm. The theory part of the study was based on literature, laws, regulations and guidelines. The thesis study used qualitative research methods. In the empirical part the possible ways of carrying out the change of generation on one farm were analysed, and various calculations were made. The results of the study show what costs and tax consequences are involved in the various types of trade transactions considering the transferor and the transferee. There is not just one right way to implement the change of generation on a farm. In this work a suggestion was made on the purchase price and also on how to carry out the trade transaction. The implementation of a generation change is a time-consuming and planning-intensive process. Calculations make it easy to find out the costs of trade, but in addition to the financial value, also a lot of sentimental value is involved